Saturday, January 5, 2008

Urban Sprawl

I have been having a lot of difficulty posting my posts. I cannot seem to pinpoint the problem and have almost thrown in the towel a few times, and then suddenly I am able to get the thing working. The last post got cut off and I was unable to access it to correct or edit it. So, in case you were wondering, our friends were headed to the airport. Nothing much after that. :-)The forecasted rain came today, about five minutes of it. The smell of dry soil getting a bit of rain is incredible and so reminds me of my boyhood in the prairies. The 70F temperature makes up for the overcast skies.Today we walked a lot. First in the neighbourhood, then in the largest of three Walmarts in Yuma, while our car was getting an oil change, then in the pm we walked the West Wetlands Trails for more than an hour. We also checked out a new subdivision behind the Walmart and toured the four show homes there. We find it interesting to compare building styles, architecture, decor, and finishing techniques. The upscale homes here are priced about where our starter homes are priced back home. However, the workmanship is little lacking.I napped today for the first time! This is rare for me even at home so I hope I will sleep tonight. If not, I will have to bore you with an all night post.I am reading a book "Growing up Hockey" given to me by my daughter for Christmas. Super book if any of you ever grew up playing hockey. It is dredging up all kinds of nostalgic memories for me. I mention this because I miss my hockey. As many of you know, the only TV I watch is hockey and getting the scores on the internet just doesn't quite scratch my itch.The best way to describe Yuma is 'Urban desert sprawl'. We have driven over 200 km since we got here and are still discovering nooks and crannies of Yuma that even our maps do not show. The amount of motorhome dealerships, RV parks, and trailer courts is unbelievable! In places, as far as the eye can see, 5th wheels and motorhomes parked under the palms and citrus trees. Every RV in America and Canada must be here. It seems that the people we see are all either Mexican families, or retired couples, a few as young as us, but mostly older. If we ever return, it will be to a long term rental, but it looks like there is no such thing here. We do not do RV's so it just may be that this is our last visit here. It seems the only really attractive draw here is the weather, and perhaps cheap living. After the museums have been visited, the natural attractions have been walked and photographed, the only thing left is to bask in the fact that you are not back home freezing your buns. As much as that is worth, there has to be more. I believe that many of these snowbirds have found community in their RV park, lawn chairing it under their canopies, golfing, or shopping at the Walmart with fellow travellers. We have plenty of community back home, and we already feel it drawing us back.